Monday, August 27, 2012

GOOD MORNING REXBURG!!!
Oh man what a crazy week, probably one of the greatest of my mission, things are just getting greater and greater. So this week was the week of the changes so a new change and new possibilities! Honestly we don’t have much time, they are remodeling the computers in the stake center, well the room there so we have had to go to the capital to use internet and we don’t have much time.
This week just full of miracles! a lot of contacting and a lot of lessons, one of our investigators that we found with elder Arce when he came to my area, well we taught him the Book of Mormon then we came back and he wasn’t there so we never went back because usually they are lying to us and don’t want to listen to us, but we found his son one day and told us to come they will be waiting for us, and that they want to talk to us. So my comp went with a future missionary, and he read 2 Nephi 31 that talks about baptism and why it is important, and he (over the past couple weeks) was thinking about it, and it hit him how important it is, he was baptized as a baby catholic but he doesn’t like that he didn’t have a choice or say in it, so basically he flat out told us he wants to be baptized for someone that has the authority (that was restored through Joseph Smith) honestly these occasions are rare when people can connect the dots so fast and also a lot had to do with the spirit. (The spirit is key!) So we are going to help him and prepare him.
We are also working with a brother and sister, trying to help them see the importance of everything, the brother always comes to mutual and also an activity we had Friday of playing soccer. We shall see.
I want to share one experience that will probably stick with me all my life. We were in divisions, I was with a member who is preparing to serve his mission in Mexico (there are 4 future missionaries in our ward) so we are always visiting with them to help train them and get there emociones up! We had been contacting for 2 hours straight, it was very hot, won’t lie I was done, mentally I had clocked out, we had 20 minutes left before we met back up with Elder Ayala, and I said lets go to a tienda (corner store?) to buy a soda or something to get my energy up, so we are walking and we pass a side street, and I have a strong feeling to go up there, so half a block later I say we got to go back. So we turn around and the first house we knock on!.... nothing.... I won’t lie I was expecting something, but it’s all good we continued on, we skipped a whole bunch of houses then randomly knocked on one, I don’t know why that one but I ask the lady if she knows who we are, and she says ya the people that don’t drink coffee (coffee is literally a part of the culture here, it is not only accepted but if you don’t have your coffee you aren’t Guatemalan) so she asks us a couple more questions of the law of chastity and basic beliefs when her neighbor dropped off a piece of tin, I don’t know what to call that, here they are called laminas, so we jumped on that and took it in for her, so that’s how we got in, then we get talking and she was a Jehovah Witness but not anymore, and has a ton of questions for us, I love being able to answer questions it is honestly the best feeling ever. But to save time we had a GREAT visit, then we returned Sunday and had an even better lesson, the last comment she had even before we mentioned baptism was that I am addicted to coffee, and I imagine in order to be baptized I have to quit drinking coffee. So we have a couple things to help her (morecaf) it’s a coffee made from cereals. But honestly walking away from these 2 lessons have left me humbled, and surprised. After the first visit I was so humbled and just happy to be here. This is why I am here, to help people come unto Christ, but it’s not me, I am only a tool, (dad remember laughing about that at the family reunion?) but really being here giving two years to help the Savior is the best thing I could have done, I love it here, it’s not always roses and cherry’s it is hard, but its time like these that we look for, to have the spirit work through us to help others. I love it out here, I love working with the spirit, I am trying to do that more, (obviously because without it we are nothing! just a little gringo far away from home) we are working hard, trying to set up a good base for Elder Ayala for the rest of his mission, I am changing a lot of things, mainly improving our communication and also patience... that’s my stumbling block right now that I am over coming! (I feel like that’s been it for my whole mission, but I can notice a huge difference.) Welp I love you all so much, please know that, I am so grateful for you guys in my life, I don’t tell you guys enough but I am so grateful for you, every one of you and the influence that you have had in my life. Well hope you have a great week, tell nana I love her and miss her. Much Love!
Elder Call

Monday, August 20, 2012

FAMILY!!!!
How in the world are ya? Where in the world are ya? I’m in Guatemala did ya know that? I’m in Zone one of the capital, the center of the capital! I love it, (don’t worry we are just using internet here).
SO this week FLEW by, ever since I have been training I have felt the time has flown 10x,s faster, and it seems there isn’t not enough time in the day to get everything done.
In our area especially, no one is home during the day, and only during the night from 6-9 is when all our appointments are, and in those hours we are running around trying to visit as many people as possible, also during the day there are people to find teach and contact, but more during the night we are BUSY!!
So Tuesday we were contacting in a residencial ( ya I don’t recommend it, the police here don’t like us, BUT they do like snickers....) and don’t know how we ended up there, but the first house we knocked on, the lady told us how she was wanting to talk to us but didn’t know how to get in contact with us, her uncle had been teaching her and telling her about the church and she was really interested and wanted to know more, don’t know how but BAM miracle.
So also another cool experience we had was with a member family who the mom is inactive because of her job, but they live in really really poor humble conditions, but honestly they are truly happy, you could sense it, feel it and see it. They have true faith in God, they had everything but then her husband left them so she had to start over, and she put her faith in God and is moving forward. She was never mad at God for everything that happened, but kept her faith, they are truly happy even though they have close to nothing. Do we have that type of faith? If our life took a 180 turn would we still have the faith to continue on trusting in God? It is also like an example in 3rd Nephi, when the believers in the time right before Christ came, well the non-believers put a date that if Christ didn’t come by that time all the believers would be put to death? Would we have the faith sufficient to continue on believing? I would like to think that I would, we have things so good right now, all you that are reading this, because you have a computer to read this on, you have internet a home, if we took all that away would our faith stay? Because this family had that happen, and they kept their faith, it really touched me this week, really made an impression on me, and I don’t even think they tried to.
So why do I love Guatemala? because when we are contacting under a nice breeze a guy walks by yelling COCOs COCOs so we buy a coconut each for 3 Q`s... ya that’s like 36 cents, so we continue contacting with a coconut in hand... I love Guatemala!
So Friday... crazy day!! we did divisions with Elder Shipley so he could say goodbye to a family in my area, it was supposed to be that we all four went and had a dinner that my comp cooked, but they had some appointments in the AP`s area so I went with elder walker. But I actually ended up going with Elder Bruderer (yamy CCM comp!) they came up to Pinula to get me, then we switched and off into an adventure... We had to go to the office because he had some things to finish up (change week is always the busiest) basically I helped him and solved all the problems he couldn’t figure out! ya no big deal... no just kidding, but really so basically we did that the whole night, but holy cow I don’t think I have ever had so much fun, there are 4 missionaries in that house (the only house like that in the mission) it could get a little crazy there, but we had such a fun time, Elder Walker and Parmer are great elders it was so fun. Then the next morning we did the work out video called insanity, it was crazy! I am still sore from it today, CRAZY, well totes out of time, I love you all, have a great week, I am so grateful for all your love and support for the thought and prayers and emails and letters and packages, thank you so much. I truly love it out here, helping other people find Christ it’s amazing. Till next week.
-Elder Call

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Oh man, so this has been cRAZUY out here! The time is going faster and faster every week, this week FLEW by.
So where to start... HURRICANE!!! this week we have had so much rain and just DOWNPOUR, it rained so hard like every day, we got soaked a couple times, in the mornings it looks so clear so we left without umbrellas and we thought we would grab them after lunch, then all the sudden it just starts raining, but not your normal in the states rain, here it is as if someone switched on the facet and it just DUMPS!!! That has been pretty fun; it has helped us enter a couple of houses though. We cleaned up the house and got the patio clean and it hasn’t gotten clogged since, which means no more floods. :)

SO not too much happened in terms of huge events, I usually tell you guys of all the crazy things that happen out of the ordinary work.
Monday we had a Noche de hogar (family home evening) with a part member family, they are awesome, a family of 5, we put some goals with them for the parents to get baptized, but requires that they get divorced and then marry which is very difficult here, but not impossible. So we are totes going to help them!!
We are teaching a family that is very humble they live in the area down from us, I sent a couple photos of that area on snapfish, they are awesome, they have such a strong desire to change, and to turn their life around, the problem is work, neither of them have graduated one dropped out in like 2nd grade and the other in like 4th, so that makes it super hard to find a good job here, right now they are both working Sundays, but we are trying to help them improve their circumstances.
Dad if your business could go international, to Guatemala and if you could offer work to all of our investigators that would be just great! :)
Saturday we had such a great lesson! we found this guy contacting, he told us to come back later Saturday in the morning, (this was a couple weeks ago), we almost blew him off when Saturday came around because it didn’t seem to positive but I had a feeling to go, so we went and he let us in, he is a heavy addict of drugs and alcohol and has had serious problems for like 20 years, off and on, so we talked about the atonement and how it can offer him help and the forgiveness needed. Well we came back Saturday but this time we found the whole family, so the mom made us hot chocolate and then we taught them. We did a kind of connect the dots with scriptures we talked about how when we are obedient we will receive blessings, we used Mosiah 2. 22 where it says that all the Lord wants is us to be obedient. Then talked a little more about how we can be obedient to the things that he wants. We used a bunch of others but we ended with Joshua 24. 15 and committed them to make the changes necessary (horrible spelling!) they are such a sweet family, the spirit so strong in the lesson.
Wednesday we had a trainers meeting with president, it went well, I realized that I need more patience... but that has been the story of my mission, but I left that meeting motivated to be better, and things have improved so much between my comp and me.
So we helped a guy who works in a honey factory! He filters it cleans it then bottles it. It was so crazy!! We got to help him I wanted to write more about the process but no time! So I sent a photo of me enjoying my labors of honey!

Umm the busses here are crazy! I wish you could see them, they are decorated way crazy, and they speed as if they are running from the cops on a crazy getaway. But inside they have remodeled them so that the seats are a little more inward from the wall, so the isle is smaller, so 3 adults fit on a bench (it is a yellow school bus from the states) so they pack us in like fish, waiting to be eaten, they have 3 adults sitting down, then two people standing in the isle back to back, we are always standing because we always have such bad luck. The busses are so crazy!! But I love it!
So I have only 10 months left now, I am freaked out, time has flown by so fast, I can’t believe how fast it has gone by, this is going to be a short letter, long story but we had to go on an adventure in the capital to find a chapel to use internet. We got here but the janitor needs to close the church so we have to go soon, sorry it’s so short, once I have my I-touch I can write a little on that during the week and then send it to you guys Monday when we write home! So just wait like 2 more weeks and the letters will get better.
I want to close with my testimony, I don’t think I have ever expressed it fully, and probably won’t, but I know that what I am doing is correct, I have never felt such joy I can’t express it how happy I am here, it is hard, super hard, but helping people make changes, real changes, bringing their lives closer to God. I LOVE IT OUT HERE, This church is the only true church here on the earth!!! It’s amazing!! Guatemala is amazing, it is so crazy but that is what I love about, I wish I could tell you all about it, but there just isn’t time!
Elder Call

Monday, August 6, 2012

So special shout out to Lexi Glauser! I doubt she reads this, but THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!
Did Nana get my letter? Can you send me a copy of the photo of us together? I sent one to her, look on snap fish to see which one. And then I can print it off here, I think that would be the easiest.
So honestly this week was probably one of the busiest! So much happened. Monday wasn’t p-day, we wrote you guys then came home and worked like normal it was horrible! 14 months of p day on Monday you get used to that little break!
Tuesday full of contacting and genuine missionary work. That night we ate with a lieutenant in the Guatemalan Army! So it was on his iPhone that I could find out where we are, but I think I gave you the coordinates of his house? I don’t remember but I think maybe our house? All the gated communities look the same from space!!! But we are pretty far away from the city, where we live is like a secluded rich area, the majority of it is pretty Nice! The area is called the residenciales of San Jose Pinula, Las Margaritas is one of the gated communities, we live in front of those. But I don’t know how it appears online!
So Wednesday we went to EL TEMPLO!! It was so awesome! We had to be there at 6 AM, so it was a very early morning! Then after we went to the zoo! Won’t explain too much because you can see everything on snap photo! (your welcome...)

then after we were starving because we didn’t eat breakfast, so we went to a mall by our area that has all your major classic fast food, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell, but somehow we ended up at Applebee’s! We all had talked about it but we were joking, but then we went! I had a steak one of the best ones ever!! SO GOOD! Best one I’ve had in the mission by far! And I think the first salad I have eaten in over a year.

Thursday was normal day full of work work work!! Friday CONFERENCIA DE ZONA!!! We went to Montufa and had a zone conference there, I really liked that President talked about the mission like a University that is why it is so hard, the Lord is preparing us and giving us experiences for our benefit. He knows where we are at, who our mission president is, our area, our comp and the problems we are going to encounter. He knows everything and is preparing us! During the message the thought came to my mind "the lord wants to mold you, so be moldable." I love it, it isn’t always roses and cherry blossoms out here, it is super hard, but with a good attitude and a willingness to give into what the Lord wants, we are going to change to become better!
Saturday was HORRIBLE!! It rained the hardest it has ever rained, and so Saturday morning we woke up swimming! Our house flooded!!

The drain in the back clogged up, so it all entered the house through the back door.
So we spent all morning taking out the water and cleaning, we left at noon to work, left the windows open to dry it out, well it rained again... only harder.... so when we got back it was flooded but this time worse, and all the rooms and bathrooms! and the window ... open...above my bed.... ya it was soaked, but luckily the mattress protector kept it dry so it wasn’t too bad,

ya well totes out of time!!!
I love you all thank so much for the love and support!! Not only in the mission but in my life!! I love it out here, I have never worked this hard before! We are working hard I love it! I love this gospel, I love my savior, and the atonement that he did for us, I am learning more about it because I don’t think we can ever understand it completely what he did for us. But I am so grateful for it. I am so grateful for you guys! I love you and miss you!
Elder Call